The present invention relates to a closure for use in the bottled water industry. In particular, the present invention is an improved gripping and sealing cap for use on multi-gallon (e.g. 5-gallon) plastic and glass water bottles of the type which are typically inverted and placed on bottled water dispensers.
There are a number of suppliers of reusable plastic five-gallon containers used to deliver water to consumers. While the bottles provided by the manufacturers of five-gallon containers tend to be made with a generally standard neck finish, substantial differences among manufacturers does exist, and the bottle neck finishes on bottles produced by a single manufacturer can have some significant variations. These variations present a challenge for cap suppliers who need to provide a single cap design which is capable of sealing substantially different bottle neck finishes. Further sealing challenges arise from the fact that bottles are typically re-used and re-filled over and over again. In the process of their being stored at various uncontrolled locations, transported and handled by persons who may or may not handle the bottles carefully, bottle neck finishes become nicked and otherwise damaged. Such damaged neck finishes make it even more difficult for a single cap design to seal effectively in a consistent manner all of the bottles processed by a bottling facility.
While standardization has occurred among various suppliers of five-gallon containers used in the bottled water industry, variability remains a fact with which closure suppliers must deal. Standardization, however, makes introducing any improvements in the design of bottle neck finishes difficult, because any significant change in the design of a bottle neck finish will render it non-standard, and unacceptable. Bottlers cannot contend with the problem of associating a particular closure with more than one style of container neck finish, and the ability of container manufacturers to make changes in the neck finish of their containers is significantly impaired by standardization. The problem of dealing with a multiplicity of neck profiles has been a recognized problem in the bottled water industry. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,316 (and references discussed in the specification thereof). The ""316 patent discloses a typical closure for five-gallon containers and discusses the ability of the cap shown in the ""316 patent to accommodate neck profiles which differ very slightly from one to another. See FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,316. A cap for five gallon containers to be commercially viable, it must work well with the full range of bottle neck finishes which are in circulation in the distribution systems of customers.
Changes or improvements in the bottle neck finishes of five-gallon containers have, therefore, typically been very small and subtle, because bottle manufacturers are aware of the need for existing caps to accommodate their bottles. In order to accommodate a significantly new neck profile in a five-gallon container, a cap will need to work and seal effectively with the range of existing standard neck profiles and any the new or improved neck finish.
The closure of the present invention provides both: 1) an improved seal on the typical variety of standard neck configurations which are presently in wide circulation, and 2) a particularly effective seal on neck a finish which substantially new and different from the existing standard. This is accomplished with a cap in which there is a top which may or may not include a valve, a side wall depending from the top of the cap and a skirt extending further downwardly from the side wall. On the inside surface of the cap, an elongated sealing flange is formed and extends down-outwardly from the outer margin of the underside of the top of the cap. The lower tip of the sealing flange is preferably disposed outside, or outwardly in the radial direction, from the inside diameter of the latching bead formed at the base of the side wall of the cap. To avoid misalignment or twisting of the sealing flange, the inside surface of the wedge-shaped sealing flange is preferably disposed at an angle of greater than 90xc2x0 (e.g. 109xc2x0) from the plane of the top of the cap. The sealing flange of the cap of the present invention is substantially longer in length than sealing flanges typically used on the inside surface of five-gallon caps. The sealing flange of the present invention has a height which is approximately one-third of the overall distance between the underside of the top of the cap and the latching bead at the base of the side wall of the cap. In a preferred embodiment which is particular suitable for use in conjunction with a particular (and not presently standard) neck finish, the side wall of the cap includes a concave section immediately above the latch bead, and an adjacent stop above the concave section which has a slightly convex configuration which provides a way of locating the outside surface of the neck finish relative to the sealing flange. This stop helps to ensure that the position of the neck finish results in a consistent pressure being applied at the interface between the sealing flange and the upwardly facing surface of the neck finish. Also, the extended-length sealing flange of the cap of the present invention enhances the stability of liners which are sometimes used in five gallon caps by ensuring that the liner remains centered around the opening of the container. The sharp tip of the sealing flange and the lateral movability of the tip, as the cap is installed, provide a tension in the liner which improves its sealing effect. This improved stability of liners afforded by the cap of the present invention is particularly advantageous in standard (i.e. non-valved) caps, it is also true in valved caps where a donut-like liner is used surrounding the recess in the center of such caps.
The cap of the present invention is intended for use on bottles with relatively wide or semi-wide mouth necks, i.e. necks on the order of about 55 millimeters or about 2 inches. The terms xe2x80x9csemi-wide mouthxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9csemi-widexe2x80x9d are intended herein to refer to the kinds of neck configurations which are typically used on 5-gallon containers in the bottled water industry in the United States. Containers of this type present unique challenges to cap manufacturers for a number of reasons, such as: 1) the bottles are re-used many times before they are discarded, and in the process of use, re-sue filling and transportation the surfaces which are to be used as sealing surfaces may receive damage of varying degrees of severity, 2) they are stored for varying periods in unpredictable environments, 3) they are handled repeatedly by all kinds of persons, including consumers, delivery personnel and workers at bottling facilities, 4) the size of the semi-wide mouth opening in bottles such as 5-gallon water bottles is substantially greater than openings in other containers in which liquids are delivered to consumers, 5) semi-wide mouth containers of bottled water are often shipped, and sometimes stored, in a horizontal position with water pressure constantly pressing against the seal formed by the closure. For these reasons, the effective sealing of semi-wide mouth container necks presents unique challenges to closures manufacturers.
The foregoing advantages of the present invention will be better understood upon a reading of the specification set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.